Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator includes a door and a dispenser mounted on the door. The door includes a front panel forming at least a part of the door&#39;s front surface. The front panel has a through-hole which is configured to at least partially correspond to the dispenser. The front panel is a glass plate, and has an upper region above the through-hole, a lower region below the through-hole and side regions which are located between the upper region and the lower region and which connect with the upper region and the lower region.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, more particularly to ahouse-hold or commercial refrigerator.

BACKGROUND

Recently, consumer has increased requirement for a multifunctionalrefrigerator. For example, such a refrigerator is conventionallywell-known, on whose door a dispenser is arranged such that ice andwater stored in the refrigerator can be taken off via the dispenserwithout opening the door of the refrigerator.

Furthermore, since the appearance of the door of the refrigerator iscritical in consideration of the whole appearance of the refrigerator,factors such as material and color etc. of the front panel at the frontsurface of the refrigerator door should be specially taken into accountby a designer. Conventionally, the front panel for the door of therefrigerator is formed of a metallic sheet which is bonded with foammaterial in foaming procedure of the door of the refrigerator. Therefrigerator manufactory can change color/texture of the metallic sheetby applying paints having different colors/made of different materialson the metallic sheet such that the appearance of the refrigerator canbe various as desired. Besides, it is also known in the prior art thatthe front panel of the refrigerator is made from glass plate. Due tospecialty of glass, this kind of refrigerator is usually affected byconsumer.

However, in the prior art, in a case that a refrigerator is providedwith a dispenser, the glass panel of the refrigerator has to be providedat a location other than the vicinity of the dispenser such that theglass panel cannot be disturbed by the dispenser. For example,individual glass panels are arranged above and below the dispenserrespectively and at locations other than the vicinity of the dispenser(especially not at both sides of it). This arrangement can cause thatregions of the front surface of the refrigerator door which are aboveand below and around the dispenser are made of various materials suchthat these regions can hardly be in a same plane. Therefore, in thevicinity of the dispenser, the front surface of the refrigerator doorlooks being divided visually. Furthermore, the glass panels above andbelow the dispenser being separated from each other may increase theassembling cost of the refrigerator door.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to overcome at least one of theabove-mentioned problems and thus to provide an improved refrigerator.

Therefore, according to an aspect of the present invention, arefrigerator is provided, which comprises a door and a dispenser mountedon the door, the door comprises a front panel forming at least a part ofthe door's front surface, the front panel has a through-hole which atleast partially corresponds to the dispenser, characterized in that thefront panel is a glass plate and comprises an upper region above thethrough-hole, a lower region below the through-hole and side regionswhich are located between the upper region and the lower region andwhich connect with the upper region and the lower region.

Therefore, the front surface of the refrigerator's door which surroundsthe dispenser can be made of glass panel as the front surface of theremaining portion of the door does such that it is anticipated that thefront panel of refrigerator is constructed by a glass panel to achieve aneat and simple appearance.

Further individual or combined technical features are explained in thefollowing claims and they are regarded as possessing the characteristicsof the present invention.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the front panel has a one-pieced structure. Therefore,portions of the front panel can be seamlessly connected. This reducesgap which will be inevitably existed between different portions of thefront panel, and thus a neat and simple appearance of the refrigeratorcan be achieved.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the sum of the longitudinal lengths of the upper portion, thelower region and one of the side regions is substantially equal to thelongitudinal height of the door in value. Particularly and preferably,the front surface of the door is substantially formed by the frontpanel.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, thelateral size of each of the side regions is at least 5 cm, for example 7to 8 cm. When the upper region, the lower region and the side regionsare integrated with each other, it is particularly preferable since therisk of breaking off of the front panel around the through-hole can bereduced. The breaking off may be caused by insufficient strength of thefront panel due to the existence of the though-hole.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the doorcomprises a first wall forming a back surface of the door, a second wallseparated at a predetermined interval from the first wall and athermally insulated layer accommodated between the first wall and thesecond wall, and the front panel is attached at the front side of thesecond wall.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a gap isformed in a front and back direction between the front panel and thesecond wall. The door comprises a shelter element for shielding the gapalong the through-hole. Therefore, the gap between the front panel andthe second wall is shielded from a dispensing chamber for the dispenser.This can facilitate preventing foreign matter from entering into the gapbetween the front panel and the second wall, and more particularly canfacilitate obtaining a neat appearance.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the dispenser comprises a dispenser housing, and the shelterelement is formed by the dispenser housing.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the dispenser comprises a dispensing chamber foraccommodating at least a part of an additional device. At least aportion of the chamber's wall defining the dispensing chamber extendsforwards into the through-hole. In one aspect, the chamber wallextending into the through-hole can shield the end face of the secondwall and the gap between the second wall and the front panel. In anotheraspect, the gap and the end face of the second wall which are not infavor of the refrigerator's appearance are shielded by the chamber wall,which can facilitate reducing additional components.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator isprovided. The refrigerator comprises a door, which comprises a frontpanel forming at least a part of the door's front surface, the frontpanel having a through-hole, whose lateral width is at least a half ofthe lateral width of the front panel, characterized in that the frontpanel is made of glass and comprises an upper region above thethrough-hole, a lower region below the through-hole and side regionswhich each are located at a corresponding side of the through-hole andwhich connect with the upper region and the lower region.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, thedoor has a dispensing chamber for accommodating at least a part of anadditional device. At least a portion of the through-hole is constructedas an access to the dispensing chamber. In another preferred embodiment,the door comprises a table-forming door which can be used to selectivelyopen or close the through-hole.

In a preferred embodiment, the refrigerator comprises a control panelwhich is at least partially accommodated in the through-hole.

Particularly and preferably, the front panel has a one-pieced structure,and the front surface of the door is substantially formed by the frontpanel.

The construction of the present invention and other objectives andbeneficial effects of the present invention will be well understood bythe following description of preferred embodiments in accompany with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention can be understood, preferredembodiments of the present invention are explained in accompany with thedrawings which together with the description is used to interpret theprinciple of the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic exploded view of a door of the refrigeratoraccording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a partially sectional view of the door of the refrigeratoraccording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a detailed view of the part “A” in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 shows a schematic front view of the refrigerator according to thepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Refer to figures, especially FIG. 1. A refrigerator 1 comprises arefrigerator body 18. In this embodiment, the refrigerator body 18defines a freezing compartment (not shown) and a refrigeratingcompartment (not shown) which are arranged side-by-side. Therefrigerator further comprises a freezing compartment door 2 and arefrigerating compartment door 2′ which are connected to therefrigerator body 18. The freezing compartment door 2 and therefrigerating compartment door 2′ each are pivotally connected to acorresponding side of the refrigerator body 18 such that the freezingcompartment and the refrigerating compartment can be opened or closedselectively. The freezing compartment door 2 and the refrigeratingcompartment door 2′ each are provided with a handle 19 thereon such thata user can easily open or close the corresponding door.

The freezing compartment door 2 is provided with a dispenser 3. Thedispenser 3 is provided so that ice and/or water stored in therefrigerator 1 can be discharged even in case of the freezingcompartment door 2 being not opened. However, the present invention isnot limited to this. For instance, in an alternative embodiment, it isalso possible that the dispenser 3 is provided on the refrigeratingcompartment door 2′.

In this embodiment, the dispenser 3 has a dispensing chamber 4 which isopened at its front end to receive an additional device such as a cup.The dispenser 4 is recessed backwards at a depth from the front surfaceof the freezing compartment door 2.

The refrigerator 1 comprises a control panel 17 arranged on the door 2.In this embodiment, the control panel 17 is arranged directly adjacentto and above the dispensing chamber 4. Preferably, the control panel 17comprises a display screen 20 and a plurality of switch devices 21. Thedisplay screen 20 is used to display information such as operatingstatus and/or setting parameter of the refrigerator 1. Preferably, theswitch devices 21 are located below the display screen 20 such that theswitch devices 21 are closer to the dispensing chamber 4 than thedisplay screen 21. In this embodiment, for example, by means ofmanipulation of a corresponding one of the switch devices 21, a user cancarry out operations such as water dispensing, flake ice dispensing andice cake dispensing and can turn on a lighting device for illuminatingthe dispensing chamber 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the freezing compartment door 2 comprises afirst wall 10 forming a back surface of the freezing compartment door 2and a front panel 5 forming a front surface of the freezing compartmentdoor 2. The first wall 10 faces toward the freezing compartment when thefreezing compartment door 2 is closed. The freezing compartment door 2further comprises a second wall 11 located between the first wall 10 andthe front panel 5. The second wall 11 is preferably made of metallicsheet.

There is an interval between the second wall 11 and the first wall 10such that a space is formed between the second wall 11 and the firstwall 10 to accommodate a thermally insulated layer 12. The thermallyinsulated layer 12 is preferably formed by foaming of thermallyinsulated foam material.

The dispenser 3 comprises a dispenser housing 26, which dispenserhousing defines a concave chamber 27 recessed in a front and backdirection. The front end opening of the concave chamber 27 is in asubstantially quadrangle shape. The second wall 11 is provided with anopening 23 corresponding with the concave chamber 27. The position andthe size of the opening 23 substantially correspond to those of thefront end opening of the concave chamber 27.

The concave chamber 27 is divided into an upper portion and a lowerportion by a partition wall 28. More particularly, a portion of theconcave chamber 27 which is below the partition wall 28 is opened at itsfront end such that a dispensing chamber 4 is formed to receive anadditional device. A portion of the concave chamber 27 which is abovethe partition wall 28 is closed by the control panel 17. An icedischarging opening 30 is provided on the partition wall 28 such thatice stored in the freezing compartment is entered into the portion ofthe concave chamber 27 which is above the partition wall 28 via an icetransporting chute 29 and then is entered into the dispensing chamber 4via the ice discharging opening 30. When it is not necessary totransport ice, the ice transporting passage 29 is closed by a closureelement 44.

As shown in FIG. 4, the dispenser housing 26 comprises a mounting edge31 which is matably attached to the second wall 11. Preferably, thefront surface of the mounting edge 31 is pressed against the innersurface of the second wall 11 along the opening 23. Preferably, asealing device is provided between the front surface of the mountingedge 31 and the rear surface of the second wall 11 so as to prevent foammaterial from escaping during foaming. Such a sealing device ispreferably formed by adhesive tape, which facilitates the dispenserhousing 26 being secured on the inner surface of the second wall 11. Thedispenser housing 26 comprises a connecting slot 32 arranged around theconcave chamber 27. Correspondingly, the second wall 11 comprises aconnecting flange 32 extending backwards from the edge of the opening23. The connecting flange 33 is inserted into the connecting slot 32such that the dispenser housing 26 is secured on the second wall 11. Thedispenser housing 26 does not project beyond the front side of thesecond wall 11, and thus partially overlaps with the front surface ofthe second wall 11. The front panel 5 can be tightly pressed against thefront side of the second wall 11. The front panel 5 is explained asfollow.

The front panel 5 is made of tempered glass and comprises a through-hole6 adapted for the dispenser 3. The size and the position of thethrough-hole 6 substantially correspond to those of the front endopening of the concave chamber 27. In this embodiment, the upper portionof the through-hole 6 is closed by the control panel 17, and the lowerportion of the through-hole 6 is constructed as an access to thedispensing chamber 4.

The front panel 5 is preferably bonded to the front surface of thesecond wall 11 by means of adhesive means, which specially facilitatesthe front surface of the front wall 5 being completely exposed outwards.Preferably, the adhesive means is a double-face adhesive tape which canimplement strong adhesion. In this embodiment, the adhesive meanscomprises a first adhesive section 24 arranged at the peripheral edge ofthe front panel 5 and a second adhesive section 25 arranged along theedge region of the through-hole 6. The first adhesive section 24 and thesecond adhesive section 25 each comprise a plurality of bar-shapedadhesive tapes which preferably adhere with each other to form aclosed-loop adhesive frame, which can prevent foreign matter such asdust from entering between the front panel 5 and the second wall 11.

With respect to the through-hole 6, the front panel 5 is divided into anupper region 7 above the through-hole 6, a lower region 8 below thethrough-hole 6 and side regions 9 a and 9 b which each are at acorresponding one of both sides of the through-hole 6 and which connectswith the upper region 7 and the lower region 8.

The front panel 5 has an outline in oblong shape. Preferably, the widthsof the upper region 7 and the lower region 8 are at least substantiallyidentical with the width of the freezing compartment 2. The sum of thelongitudinal lengths of the lower region 7, the upper region 8 and oneof the side regions 9 a and 9 b is substantially equal to thelongitudinal height of the door 2 in value. Therefore, the front surfaceof the second wall 11 can be completely covered by the front panel 5.

The front panel 5 has a one-pieced structure such that the upper region7, the lower region 8 and the side regions 9 a and 9 b connect with eachother without any gap. This can facilitate reducing any possible gap onthe front surface of the freezing compartment such that a neat andperfect appearance of the refrigerator can be anticipated.

The lateral width of the through-hole 6 is at least a half of the widthof the front panel 5. Preferably, the side regions 9 a and 9 b aresymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the frontpanel 5. In order to ensure that the front panel 5 has a sufficientstrength, the lateral sizes of the side regions 9 a and 9 b are largerthan 5 cm, for example larger than 7˜8 cm. In this embodiment, the widthof the front panel 5 is 40 cm, the width of the through-hole 6 is 24 cm,the width of each of the side regions 9 a and 9 b is 8 cm. Of course, itis also possible that the lateral sizes of the side regions 9 a and 9 bare different from each other.

Small holes 41 are provided on the front panel 5 to mount a handle 19therein. A front end of a handle mounting portion 42 secured on thesecond wall 11 projects into a corresponding one of the small holes 41so as to be connected with a connecting root 43 of the handle 19.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a gap 13 is formed between the front panel 5and the second wall 11 in a front and back direction. The interval inthe front and back direction of the gap 13 is substantially identical tothe thickness of each of the first adhesive section 24 after beingpressed and the second adhesive section 25 after being pressed. In thisembodiment, the gap 13 is about 1 mm in size.

In an preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the endof a chamber wall 15 of the dispenser housing 26 for defining theconcave chamber 27 extends beyond the second wall 11 and projects intothe through-hole 6 such that the end of the chamber wall 15 forms ashelter element 14 used to isolate the second wall 11 and the gap 13from the concave chamber 27. Since the dispensing chamber 4 is formed ofa portion of the concave chamber 27, the second wall 11 and the gap 13are not exposed in the dispensing chamber 4. Preferably, the dispensingchamber wall 15 extends into the through-hole 6 and not beyond the frontsurface of the front panel 5.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator 1″ accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, therefrigerator 1″ comprises a refrigerating compartment door 34 which isprovided with a table-forming opening 35. The table-forming opening 35is provided through the refrigerating compartment door 34 in a front andback direction. The table-forming opening 35 is selectively closed oropened by a table-forming door 16 provided on the refrigeratingcompartment door 34.

The front surface of the refrigerating compartment door 34 is formed bya front panel 36. The front panel 36 is made of glass and has aone-pieced structure. At a location corresponding to the table-formingopening 35, a through-hole 37 is formed on the front panel 36 and itsposition and size substantially correspond to those of the table-formingopening 35. The lateral width of the through-hole 37 is larger than ahalf of the total width of the front panel 36. The front panel 36comprises an upper region 38 above the through-hole 36, a lower region39 below the through-hole 37 and side regions 40 a and 40 b which eachare located at a corresponding one of both sides of the through-hole 36and which connect with the upper region 38 and the lower region 39.Therefore, the front surface of the refrigerating compartment door 34which comprises the surrounding area of the table-forming opening 35 canbe made of only a piece of glass panel. This facilitates to solve thetechnical problem that material is not unified and connect seams areexcessive in a case that the refrigerating compartment door 34 providedwith the table-forming door 16 is made of glass panel.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A refrigerator, comprising: a door comprising afront panel forming at least a part of a front surface of the door andhaving a through-hole; and a dispenser mounted on the door, with thethrough-hole being configured to at least partially correspond to thedispenser, wherein the front panel is a glass plate and comprises anupper region above the through-hole, a lower region below thethrough-hole, and side regions which are located between the upperregion and the lower region and which connect with the upper region andthe lower region.
 16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the frontpanel has a one-pieced structure.
 17. The refrigerator of claim 15,wherein the upper and lower regions and the side regions are eachdefined by a longitudinal length, wherein a sum of the longitudinallengths of the upper and lower regions and one of the side regions issubstantially equal to a longitudinal height of the door in value. 18.The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the front surface of the door issubstantially formed by the front panel.
 19. The refrigerator of claim15, wherein each of the side regions has a lateral size which is atleast 5 cm.
 20. The refrigerator of claim 19, wherein the lateral sizeis 7 to 8 cm.
 21. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the doorcomprises a first wall forming a back surface of the door, a second wallwhich is separated at a predetermined interval from the first wall, anda thermally insulated layer accommodated between the first wall and thesecond wall, said front panel being attached at a front side of thesecond wall.
 22. The refrigerator of claim 21, wherein a gap is formedin a front and back direction between the front panel and the secondwall, said door comprising a shelter element for shielding the gap alongthe through-hole.
 23. The refrigerator of claim 22, wherein thedispenser comprises a dispenser housing, said shelter element beingformed by the dispenser housing.
 24. The refrigerator of claim 15,wherein the dispenser comprises a dispensing chamber for accommodatingat least a part of an additional device, and a chamber wall for definingthe dispensing chamber, said chamber wall extending forwards into thethrough-hole.
 25. A refrigerator, comprising a door comprising a frontpanel which forms at least a part of a front surface of the door and hasa through-hole defined by a lateral width which is at least a half of alateral width of the front panel, said front panel being made of glassand comprising an upper region above the through-hole, a lower regionbelow the through-hole, and side regions which each are located at acorresponding side of the through-hole and which connect with the upperregion and the lower region.
 26. The refrigerator of claim 25, whereinthe door has a dispensing chamber for accommodating at least a part ofan additional device, at least a portion of the through-hole beingconstructed as an access to the dispensing chamber.
 27. The refrigeratorof claim 25, wherein the door comprises a table-forming door which isused to selectively open or close the through-hole.
 28. The refrigeratorof claim 25, further comprising a control panel which is at leastpartially accommodated in the through-hole.
 29. The refrigerator ofclaim 25, wherein the front panel has a one-pieced structure andsubstantially forms the front surface of the door.